Combined air conditioner and heater



June 0, 1967 M. o. WILHOITE COMBINED AIR CONDITIONER AND HEATER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 4, 1965 M/l I INVENTOR ATTORNEY5 June 20, 1967 o. WILHOITE 3,326,276

COMBINED AIR CONDITIONER AND HEATER Filed June 4, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENTOR Mufi/Pfly 0. M4 #0/7'5 ATTORNEY M. O. WILHOITE COMBINED AIR CONDITIONER AND HEATER June 20, 1967 heets-Sheet 5 Filed June 4, 1965 United States Patent 3,326,276 COMBINED AIR CONDITIONER AND HEATER Murray 0. Willioite, Nashville, Tenn., assignor to Temco, Inc., Nashville, Tenn., a corporation of Tennessee Filed June 4, 1965, Ser. No. 461,328 9 Claims. (Cl. 16548) This invention relates to the construction and arrangement of air inlet and exhaust structures for gas wall furnaces. In particular, it relates to such structures in a combination air conditioner and furnace in order to effect a compact symmetrical unit while providing for proper air flow and proper venting of the furnace.

Gas wall furnaces of the type employed in this invention are conventionally mounted on an exterior building wall, there being provided an air inlet and vent chimney extending from a sealed combustion chamber to the ex terior of the wall.

It is one object of the invention to provide a combined air conditioner and gas wall furnace of the above type constructed and arranged so as to present a compact symmetrical unit having a rear, or outer configuration which is free of isolated projections while at the same time effecting efiicient passage of outside air, room air and combustion products. The air conditioner and heater unit has particular utility in motels or the like where a plurality of units may be mounted on a single wall, one for each room. It is desirable from the standpoint of appearance in such arrangements to avoid a series of chimneys projecting from the wall. In a preferred construction of the invention the entire rear face of the unit is flush with the wall.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide an improved air inlet and vent for a gas wall furnace which insures equal pressure on the inlet and outlet at various wind velocities and angles.

According to the principles of the present invention a combined air conditioning and furnace unit comprises a unitary assembly having adjacent front and rear portions which communicate, respectively, with the interior of a room and with the air outside the building when the unit is installed in a hole cut in an outside wall. The front portion, which is positioned on the inside surface of the wall, provides for the recirculation of room air past the heater or past the cooling coils of the air conditioner, depending on the setting of the controls. The rear portion is preferably flush with the outer surface of the wall and :houses a combined inlet-vent for the furnace. The air conditioner is conventional and may be of the compressor type or of the type operating from a central chilled water supply. If of the former type, the refrigerant condenser coils are disposed in the rear portion of the unit, and a motor-driven fan is provided for drawing in outside air and blowing it over the condenser coils. The furnace mechanism and the air conditioning mechanism are disposed generally in the plane of the wall and are offset from each other. This arrangement together with the novel construction of the furnace vent effects a compact disposition of parts in the rear portion of the unit and permits the rear of the unit to be made flush with the wall. In the complete installation the front portion of the unit is fixedly attached to the wall and the rear portion projects through a sheet metal sleeve which has been sealed in the hole in the wall. In an actual installation, of course, suitable louvred panels are attached to the front and rear of the unit.

The invention will be further understood from the following detailed description taken with the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a simplified perspective front view of a combined air conditioner and gas heater constructed ac- "ice cording to the principles of the invention with one of the front louvred panels removed;

FIGURES 2, 3 and 4 are simplified sectional views taken on the lines 2-2, 3-3, and 44, respectively, of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 5 is a rear view of the unit.

The structure of the illustrated heating and cooling unit, apart from the sleeve and louvres, may be best described by considering the heating section and the cooling section separately even though they are parts of a single assembly. Thus the front portion of the unit includes the front parts of the heating and cooling sections, and the rear portion of the unit includes the rear parts of these sections. The division between front and rear portions of the unit is defined by a vertical insulated sheet metal plate 10 which, in a complete installation, is secured to the inside surface of an exterior wall 12 of a room. The ends of the unit as viewed from inside the room are formed by two flange portions 14, 16 which project from the ends of the division plate 10. The space between the flange portions 14, 16 is divided into two approximately equal parts by a vertical partition 18 secured to the division plate 10 at a right angle thereto.

The cooling section which is illustrated in FIGURES l, 2 and 4, includes the elements of a conventional compressor-type air conditioner together with suitable bafiles and ducts to conduct air in the desired paths. The air conditioner comprises a bank of evaporator coils 20, a motor-driven refrigerant compressor 22 and a bank of condenser coils 24. The evaporator coils 20 are disposed in front of the division plate 10 between the partition 18 and the end 14. The condenser coils 24 are disposed behind the division plate 10 in general alignment with and spaced apart from the evaporator coils 20. The compressor 22 is mounted between the adjacent end 14 and the banks of coils 20, 24. A considerable part of the division plate 10 is cut away between the end 14 and the partition 18 in order to accommodate the compressor 22 and other parts of the air conditioner.

The air conditioner further comprises a fan and blower system of generally conventional construction. The major components of the system are an electric motor '26 mounted between the banks of coils 20, 24, a fan 28 between one side of the motor 26 and the condenser coils 24 and a squirrel cage blower rotor 30 between the other side of the motor 26 and the evaporator coils 20. The fan 28 and blower rotor 30 are mounted on the motor shaft 32 which lies in the forward-rearward dimension of the unit. In operation the blower rotor 30 draws room air in a rearward direction past the evaporator coils 20 and dis charges it radially into a bafiie and duct arrangement 34 which directs it upwardly so as to be returned to the room through the top of the unit. Simultaneously, the fan 28 blows air rearwardly past the condenser coils 24 and into the atmosphere. The suction produced at the forward face of the fan 28 causes outside air to be drawn into the unit in a forward direction at the ends of the bank of condenser coils 24.

The arrangement for directing the flow of conditioned air from the blower rotor 30 into the room includes a vertical duct 66 which is in the shape of an inverted tri' angle having openings 38 and 40 in its top and bottom facing upwardly and downwardly, respectively. The opening 38 at the top of the duct is rectangular and is substantially coextensive with that portion of the top of the unit between the end 14 and the partition 18. The opening 40 in the bottom is of substantially smaller cross section and is disposed above and slightly to the left of the blower rotor 30 as viewed in FIGURE 1. This relationship is obtained by mounting the duct 36 on the front face of the partition plate 10 with the upper end of the duct being substantially flush with the upper edge of the division plate The blower rotor 30 is disposed forwardly of the division plate 10 and is enclosed except for the open lower end of the duct 36. One of the enclosing elements comprises a vertical evaporator support plate 42 disposed immediately in front of the rotor 30 and parallel to the bank of evaporator coils An air passage 44 in the support plate 42 is axially aligned with the blower rotor 30. A vertical motor support plate 46 is disposed immediately rearwardly of the rotor 30 and is imperforate except for a hole for the motor drive shaft 32. The periphery of the rotor 30 is partially enclosed by an upwardly facing semicircular bafiie 48 secured along one curved edge to the evaporator support plate 42 and sealed along its other curved edge to the motor support plate 46. A downwardly facing arcuate bafile 50 is secured to the motor support plate 46 above the rotor 30 and sealed to the evaporator support plate 42 and to one end of the semicircular bafiie 48. This arrangement leaves an arcuate gap between the other end of the semicircular baflle and one end of the arcuate bafile. The lower open end 40 of the duct 36 communicates directly with the gap and receives the stream of conditioned air from the rotor 30. Room air is prevented from flowing over the top of the bank of evaporator coils by a horizontal bafile 52 disposed immediately above the bank.

The arrangement for directing air rearwardly from the fan 28 through the condenser coils includes a housing 54 which prevents the air stream from bypassing the coils.

While the manner in which the various elements of the air conditioner are supported is of no special significance, some description of the support arrangement may be helpful in further understanding the construction of the unit. As already indicated, the plate 42 located immediately behind the evaporator coils 20 serves to support these coils as by means of conventional brackets 56 or the like securedto both the plate 42 and the coils 20. The plate 42 itself is supported by being secured along its lower edge to a horizontal platform 58 which extends from the front face of the unit to the rear face. The platform 58 also serves to support the compressor 22 which is mounted thereon with suitable fasteners. The motor 26 is secured to the rear face of the motor support plate 46 with suitable fasteners. The fan housing 54 is supported from the motor support plate 46 by spaced apart brackets 60. p

The heating section of the unit illustrated in FIGURES 1, 2, 3 and 4, includes as primary elements a heater 62 and fan 64 disposed in front of the division plate and a vent and combustion air inlet 66 disposed in back of the division plate and in alignment with the heater.

The heater includes a hollow combined combustion chamber 68 and heat exchanger and a plenum chamber 70 of lesser height spaced rearwardly therefrom and parallel thereto. A burner tube 72 is arranged in the lower part of the combustion chamber 68, and a pair of spaced apart ducts 74 connect the upper portion of the combustion chamber 68 with the plenum chamber 70. The motord'rive'n fan 64 is mounted below the combustion chamber 68 and the plenum chamber 70' for blowing air upwardly over the outside of the chambers and thence into the room through the righthand portion of the top ofthe unit. Simultaneously cool room air is drawn into the front of the unit at about floor level.

The combined vent and air inlet arrangement 66 for the heater 62 includes a duct 76 disposed behind the division plate 10 in alignment with the heater 62 and open at the rear of the unit to both discharge combustion products to the atmosphere and draw in fresh air for combustion. The flow of fresh air through the duct 76 is horizontally forward through a box-like section 78 and then downwardly through a tapered portion 80 of gradually decreasing cross section. From the latter thefresh air passes forward through two horizontally spaced apart short pipes 82 which communicate with the combustion chamber 68 adjacent the burner tube 72. The flow of combustion products is rearwardly through a vent pipe 84 which communicates at its forward end with the lower portion of the plenum chamber 70 and which terminates within the box-like section 78 of the duct. A circular cap plate 86 is attached to the rear end of the vent pipe 84 and axially spaced therefrom by a plurality of circumferentially spaced brackets 88.

The front wall of the duct is defined by part of the rear surface of the division plate 10, the latter having three openings therein for the vent pipe 84 and the two fresh air pipes 82. The side walls of the duct are formed by spaced apart vertical sheet metal plates 90 secured to the rear surface of the division plate 10 on either side of the three openings. The top wall is a horizontal sheet metal plate 97 extending between the side walls 90. The bottom wall of the duct is formed in part by a horizontal sheet metal plate 94 which with the top wall 92 and the side walls 90 defines the box-like section 78 of the duct. The remainder of the bottom wall is formed by an inclined sheet metal plate 96 which slopes downwardly and forwardly toward the division plate 10 to a location below the three openings in the latter. The lower forward edge of the inclined plate 96 is slightly spaced from the division plate 10 and together with a horizontal flange piece 98 defines a horizontally extending slot 100 which effects communication between the forward end of the duct and the adjacent space. Another slot 102 is formed between the forward edge of the top plate 92 and the division plate 10. Rearwardly of the slot 102 there is provided a downwardly extending baflle 103 which terminates just below the vent pipe 84.

The vent pipe =84 is in alignment with the box-like section 78 of the duct and terminates at its rear end at a point within that section and directly above the downwardly extending duct portion 80, that is, directly above the inclined plate 96. In addition to permitting a rear flush grill the air inlet and exhaust vent construction insures equal pressure on the inlet and outlet during windy weather. The latter function is aided by virtue of the disposition of the open ends of the inlet duct 66 and vent pipe 84 in generally the same location. This in turn results in increased efliciency in regulating the amount of oxygen available for combustion.

Referring again to FIGURE 3 it will be seen that the unit is containedin a casing which includes an open-ended sleeve 104 sealed into an opening cut in the wall 12. The forward end of the sleeve is flanged outwardly at 104 and the division wall '10 of the unit is secured to the flange by bolts 106, there being provided a gasket 105 between the wall 10 and the flange 104. The rear end of the sleeve is flanged inwardly at v108 and supports a rear louvred panel 110 which is attached with bolts 112. As seen in FIGURE 5 the portion of the flange 108 along the lower edge of the sleeve 104 is provided with drain tubes 114 for draining away any water condensed on the cooling coils 20. To aid in this function the bottom wall of the sleeve is maintained inclined downwardly and rearwardly by a spacer member 116. At the front of the unit there is a louvred shell 118 which surrounds the top, ends and front of that portion of the unit in front of the division plate '10.

While not shown in the drawings it will be understood that suitable controls for the air conditioner and heater will be provided to permit an occupant of the room to selectively operate the conditioner and the heater.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been described the details thereof are not intended to be limiting except as they appear in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a wall-mounted air treating unit; a supporting framework including a casing having a forward portion mounted on the inside surface of an exterior wall and a rear portion projecting through an aperture in said wall and to terminate in an open rear face generally in the plane of said exterior surface of the wall; a sealed fuel burning heater having a burner tube therein disposed in the forward portion of said casing, the forward face of said casing being open for the passage of room air into heat exchange relationship with the exterior of said heater; a combined combustion air inlet and exhaust gas outlet structure disposed wholly within said framework behind said heater, said structure including an exhaust gas vent pipe having an open rear end disposed in the rear portion of said framework and a forward end communicating with said heater and an air inlet duct having a laterally closed rear end portion extending horizontally and terminating in a rearwardly facing opening of greater cross section than the open end of said vent pipe and a forward portion communicating through its forward end with said heater at a location adjacent the burner tube, the open end of said vent pipe being disposed inside the rear end portion of said air inlet duct and forwardly of the opening in the latter.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said forward portion of said air inlet duct inclines forwardly and downwardly from said rear end portion.

3. Apparatus as in claim '1 wherein said forward portion of said air inlet duct is defined in part by a vertical wall through which said vent pipe projects and in part by an inclined wall which slopes downwardly and forwardly from a location rearwardly of said vertical wall and below said vent pipe.

4. Apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising cooling coils for containing a cold fluid and blower means for passing room air in heat transfer relationship with said coils, said coils and said blower means being carried by said framework within said forward portion thereof adjacent said heater and in substantially the same plane as said heater.

5. Apparatus as in claim 4 wherein said cooling coils are part of a closed refrigerant circuit including refrigerant condenser coils and a refrigerant compressor, said condenser coils being carried by said framework within the rearward portion thereof behind said cooling coils and adjacent said air duct.

6. A combined combustion air inlet and exhaust gas outlet structure attached to a Wall-mounted sealed fuel burning heater of the type having a vertically disposed combustion chamber, a burner tube in the lower part of the chamber, a combustion air inlet opening in the wall of the chamber adjacent the burner tube and an exhaust outlet opening in the wall of the chamber remote from the burner tube, said structure comprising: an air inlet duct having a horizontally extending laterally closed air inlet portion terminating in a horizontally facing, unobstructed air inlet opening of large vertical cross section, said duct further including an air delivery portion which is continuous with said horizontal portion and which extends downwardly therefrom for connection at its lower end with the combustion chamber air inlet, said air delivery portion increasing in vertical dimension and decreasing in horizontal dimension as its lower end is approached; and a horizontally disposed vent pipe of reduced cross section having an open vent end disposed within the air inlet portion of said duct and axially spaced from said air inlet opening, said vent end facing in the same direction as said inlet opening and being provided with an axially spaced cap, said vent pipe passing through a wall of said air delivery portion of said duct and terminating in an open end connected to said combustion chamber outlet.

7. A combination air conditioner and gas heater adapted for installation on the inside of an exterior wall of a building comprising: a casing having a louvred front wall and a louvred rear wall; a vertical division wall within said casing secured to the inner surface of the building wall and dividing the space within said casing into a forward portion and a rear portion; a vertically extending combustion chamber carried within said forward portion; a horizontal burner tube Within said combustion chamber; air conditioning cooling coils carried within said forward portion of said casing at a location spaced from said combustion chamber in a plane parallel to said division wall; blower means carried within said forward portion of said casing for passing room air in 'heat transfer relationship with said cooling coils; a horizontally extending air inlet duct disposed wholly within said rear portion; pipe means extending through said division wall and connecting said inlet duct with said combustion chamber adjacent said burner tube; and an exhaust gas vent pipe extending from said combustion chamber through said division wall into said inlet duct and terminating forwardly of the rear end of said inlet duct.

8. Apparatus as in claim 7 wherein said casing includes a metal sleeve sealed in an opening in said building wall, said louvred rear wall being secured to the outer end of said sleeve and the rear surface of said division wall being sealed to the inner end of said sleeve.

9. Apparatus as in claim 6 wherein said air inlet portion of said inlet duct is defined in part by upper and lower horizontal walls and wherein said air delivery portion is defined in part by a vertical front wall and inclined front wall, said front wall connecting with said upper horizontal wall and said inclined wall connecting with said lower horizontal wall.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,794,624 6/ 1957 C-ampagna et a1 -50 3,105,432 10/1963 Chamberlain 126-85 3,228,459 1/1966 Crooker et a1. 165- 48 FOREIGN PATENTS 657,943 9/ 1 Great Britain.

ROBERT A. OLEARY, Primary Examiner.

CHARLES SUKALO, Examiner. 

7. A COMBINATION AIR CONDITIONER AND GAS HEATER ADAPTED FOR INSTALLATION ON THE INSIDE OF AN EXTERIOR WALL OF A BUILDING COMPRISING: A CASING HAVING A LOUVRED FRONT WALL AND A LOUVRED REAR WALL; A VERTICAL DIVISION WALL WITHIN SAID CASING SECURED TO THE INNER SURFACE OF THE BUILDING WALL AND DIVIDING THE SPACE WITHIN SAID CASING INTO A FORWARD PORTION AND A REAR PORTION; A VERTICALLY EXTENDING COMBUSTION CHAMBER CARRIED WITHIN SAID FORWARD POSTION; A HORIZONTAL BURNER TUBE WITHIN SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBER; AIR CONDITIONING COOLING COILS CARRIED WITHIN SAID FORWARD PORTION OF SAID CASING AT A LOCATION SPACED FROM SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBER IN A PLANE PARALLEL TO SAID DIVISION WALL; BLOWER MEANS CARRIED WITHIN SAID FORWARD PORTION OF SAID CASING FOR PASSING ROOM AIR IN HEAT TRANSFER RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID COOLING COILS; A HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING AIR INLET DUCT DISPOSED WHOLLY WITHIN SAID REAR PORTION; PIPE MEANS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID DIVISION WALL AND CONNECTING SAID INLET DUCT WITH SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBER ADJACENT SAID BURNER TUBE; AND AN EXHAUST GAS VENT PIPE EXTENDING FROM SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBER THROUGH SAID DIVISION WALL INTO SAID INLET DUCT AND TERMINATING FORWARDLY OF THE REAR END OF SAID INLET DUCT. 